Wikipedia

99 Racing

99 Racing is a Jordanian-British sports car racing team that currently competes in the Russian Rally-Raid Championship and most recently completed in the LMP2 class of the Asian Le Mans Series.[1][2][3][4] For their first year of existence, the team raced under the British flag before switching to the Jordanian flag for the 2023–24 Asian Le Mans Series. The team was founded in 2022 by former Hitech Grand Prix employee Dan Hodder and ex-F1 driver Nikita Mazepin.[5]

Jordan United Kingdom 99 Racing
Founded2022
Founder(s)Dan Hodder
Nikita Mazepin
BaseSilverstone, United Kingdom
Team principal(s)
  • Dan Hodder
Current seriesRussian Rally-Raid Championship
Former seriesAsian Le Mans Series
Current driversAsian Le Mans Series:
99.
Oman Ahmad Al Harthy
Switzerland Louis Delétraz
Nikita Mazepin
Portugal Filipe Albuquerque

History

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99 Racing was founded in December 2022 by Russian former Formula One driver Nikita Mazepin and former Hitech Grand Prix employee Dan Hodder in conjunction with Mazepin's new events company, The Ninety Nine Events.[6][5][7][8] Hodder was appointed as the team's sporting director. The team announced that it would make their competitive debut in the 2023 Asian Le Mans Series competing in the LMP2 class. 99 Racing have a base located in Silverstone near Hitech Grand Prix's base.[9]

Asian Le Mans Series

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2023

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99 Racing made their debut in the 2023 Asian Le Mans Series in the LMP2 class.[10] The team would field the No. 98 Oreca 07 in collaboration with Algarve Pro Racing and Hitech Grand Prix. 99 Racing intended to use the number 99, however, Herberth Motorsport was already using the number 99 in their entry, so 99 Racing opted to use the No. 98. The team originally signed Ben Barnicoat, Nikita Mazepin, and Félix Porteiro to drive the car for the season.[5] Due to contractual obligations, Barnicoat withdrew from the team prior to the start of the season.[11] He was replaced by Neel Jani.[12] The team's nominated bronze-rated driver, Félix Porteiro, also had to withdraw after he was retroactively reclassified as silver shortly before the event. Warren Hughes was initially called up to replace Porteiro, but a documentation issue for Hughes resulted in Gonçalo Gomes eventually being drafted in.[13][14]

In the opening round of the season at Dubai, the team finished third in their debut race. Following the first two races of the season, Gomes was replaced by Ahmad Al Harthy for the remainder of the season.[15] 99 Racing rounded off their debut season with two poles and one podium in the final round at the Yas Marina Circuit.

2023–24

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The team returned to the series for the 2023–24 Asian Le Mans Series, fielding the No. 99 Oreca 07 for Ahmad Al Harthy, Louis Delétraz, and Nikita Mazepin.[16][1][17] 99 Racing partnered up with TF Sport, with Tom Ferrier's outfit preparing the car and Hitech again providing technical support. The team changed its licence from the United Kingdom to Jordan due to Jordanian former racing driver Sanad Shannak and his connections with Nikita Mazepin.[9]

99 Racing would get their maiden victory in the series in the first race held at Sepang International Circuit.[18] They followed this up with a second place in the second race at Sepang, and a second win at the 4 Hours of Dubai.[19] Going into the final round of the series at Abu Dhabi, the No. 99 held the championship lead with 68 points ahead of second place No. 4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR with 48 points.[20]

Prior to the final round, Mazepin had told the team that he was feeling unwell and would be unable to drive the final two races, thus, Filipe Albuquerque was brought in as his replacement.[21] The weekend started off well with pole position in both races, however, the first race did not go to plan as the No. 99 piloted by Al Harthy was spun by the No. 90 TF Sport of Salih Yoluç. This was compounded by Al Harthy getting a drive-through penalty for rejoining the track unsafely. Later on in the race during a safety car period, Al Harthy collided with GT points leader Alex Malykhin in the No. 91 Pure Rxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R. This crash would cause Al Harthy to retire from the race. Championship rivals No. 4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR would go on to win the race and claim the championship lead.[22] Going into the final race of the season, the No. 99 started on pole once again with Ahmad Al Harthy behind the wheel. However, their race would immediately be undone due to receiving a stop and go penalty for causing a collision in race one. The No. 99 spent the rest of the race in the back of the pack, and would go on to finish 11th. With the No. 4 finishing the final race in fifth, this would be enough for Crowdstrike Racing by APR to take the title.[23] The No. 99 would come up short of the title, finishing third in the LMP2 teams championship.[24]


Racing record

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Complete Asian Le Mans Series results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Class No Chassis Engine Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 Pos. Pts
2023   99 Racing LMP2 98 Oreca 07 Gibson GK-428 4.2 L V8   Neel Jani
  Nikita Mazepin
  Gonçalo Gomes
  Ahmad Al Harthy 		DUB
1
3 		DUB
2
6 		ABU
1
7 		ABU
2
2 		4th 49
2023–24   99 Racing LMP2 99 Oreca 07 Gibson GK-428 4.2 L V8   Ahmad Al Harthy
  Louis Delétraz
  Nikita Mazepin
  Filipe Albuquerque 		SEP
1
1 		SEP
2
2 		DUB
1 		ABU
1
Ret 		ABU
2
11 		3rd 70

References

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  1. ^ a b "Nikita Mazepin re-enters the Asian Le Mans Series". Endurance Info. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  2. ^ Aastakhov, Sergey (25 April 2023). "Никита Мазепин сообщил, что пропустит ралли-марафон «Шелковый путь»-2023" [Nikita Mazepin announced that he will miss the Silk Way Rally Marathon 2023] (in Russian). Match TV. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  3. ^ Biryukov, Nikita (13 November 2023). "Экипаж Мазепина стал вторым на этапе Кубка России по ралли-рейдам" [Mazepin's crew came in second at the Russian Rally-Raid Cup] (in Russian). Championshipat. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  4. ^ Nguyen, Justin (5 August 2024). "Nikita Mazepin returns to cross-country rally at Denis Davydov Baja". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Newly formed 99 Racing team lining up for 2023 Asian Le Mans Series". Endurance Info. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  6. ^ "Ex-F1 racer Mazepin to make return in Asian Le Mans". Motorsport Week. 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  7. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  8. ^ "Ex-Haas driver Nikita Mazepin's surprising new career outside of F1 | F1 | Crash". www.crash.net. 2022-11-04. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  9. ^ a b "Nikita Mazepin back on track with 99 Racing?". Endurance Info. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  10. ^ Euwema, Davey (2022-12-02). "Increased Prototype Field In Record 48-Car Entry – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  11. ^ Ben, Barnicoat (2023-02-01). "Announcement 📄". Twitter. Ben Barnicoat. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
  12. ^ "Asian Le Mans Series Confirm Full Entry With Most Drivers Named". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  13. ^ O'Connell, RJ (2023-02-09). "Felix Porteiro Ruled Out After Retroactive Reclassification". Dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  14. ^ Goodwin, Graham (11 February 2023). "Gonçalo Gomes Replaces The Replacement at 99 Racing". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  15. ^ "AsLMS First Abu Dhabi Paddock Notes (Updated)". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  16. ^ "36 Cars On Full-Season Asian Le Mans Series Entry List". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  17. ^ "Asian Le Mans Series Reveals Sepang Line-Ups". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  18. ^ "Asian Le Mans Series – 99 Racing and CrowdStrike Racing by APR win in Sepang". 24h-lemans.com. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  19. ^ "99 Racing Wins 4H Dubai After Thrilling Final Hour". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  20. ^ "Asian Le Mans Series Title Battles Resume In Abu Dhabi". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  21. ^ "Asian Le Mans Series Title Battles Resume In Abu Dhabi". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  22. ^ Klein, Jamie (2024-02-10). "CrowdStrike Wins Chaotic First Abu Dhabi Race – Sportscar365". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  23. ^ Newbold, James (2024-02-12). "Algarve Pro, Pure teams secure Le Mans auto invites for Asian LMS title wins". Autosport. Motorsport Network. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  24. ^ "Ahmad Al Harthy ends bruising Abu Dhabi ALMS finale P3 in championship". Times of Oman. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
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